Employment Contract Details
All documents must be presented to the local authorities either in Portuguese or with a certified translation.
Probation Period
Probation periods are determined by the type of contract the worker is engaged under and seniority.
- Fixed-term contracts that last under 6 months can include a probationary period of 15 days increasing to 30 days for longer engagements.
- Indefinite contracts can include a probationary period of 90 days for most employees increasing up to 240 days for senior management.
Minimum Wage Requirements
The Minimum Wage is EUR 740.83 per month.
Maximum working hours and overtime
Maximum working time is generally 40 hours per week and 8 hours a day. Hours above the maximum hours per day are treated as overtime and need to be remunerated with an overtime supplement.
Bonus and Expense Payments
There are 2 bonuses that must be paid in Portugal, 13th & 14th salary are subjected to income tax and social security withholdings.
Parental Leave
- Maternity Leave: employees receive 30 days before birth and 6 weeks afterwards. The pay during this time is calculated and paid by the social system
- Paternity Leave: employees can take 10 days’ paternity leave within 30 days following the birth. 5 days of this must be taken consecutively immediately after the birth of the child.
Sick Leave
Employees who have contributed into the social security system within the last 6 months are entitled to paid sick leave after the first 3 days of sickness, which are unpaid and considered as a qualifying period. Employees receive sick pay directly from the state at a rate depending on the length of sickness as follows:
- 3 - 30 days - 55% of base salary
- 31 - 90 days - 60% of base salary
- 91 - 1 year - 70% of base salary
- +1 year - 75% of base salary
Several collective bargaining agreement require employers to pay employees on sick leave. Employers who are not governed by a collective bargaining agreement may still pay sick leave.
